To evaluate the effectiveness of United Airlines’ response to Carroll’s viral video, we have to take into consideration what they were hoping to achieve with their responses. In this case, the messages that United issued contain indications that their focus was on damage control rather than process improvement. Although United did indeed actively reply to tweets and other social media communications, they made no real effort to amend the underlying issue that caused the PR debacle in the first place. United’s treatment of its customers has not improved, as evidenced by their continued inadequacy in customer service. This is shown by their poor standing on J.D. Power & Associates’ 2011 North American Airline Satisfaction Study. United’s response is also lacking in transparency and candor that a sincere admission of guilt would have displayed, and this is evidenced by their vague assurances such as that they would use Carroll’s video for “training purposes.” However, it is also possible that United’s management was aware of the fact that damage control by issuing apologies, however insincere, would be adequate. After all, although it is hyped that United’s shareholders lost $180 Million from Carroll’s video, data shows that they quickly regained this “loss” within a month. Thus, it is fair to say that United handled the incident well in a purely financial sense, but not in an ethical sense.

In retrospect, it is not surprising that “United Breaks Guitars” became a viral video. According to Jonah Berger, a professor at the Wharton School, videos that arouse visceral emotions in its viewers go viral. In this regard, the message conveyed by Carroll’s song, combined with United’s low customer satisfaction, seems like an ideal formula for a viral video; Carroll’s song acted as a fuse that detonated deeply-held frustrations of many displeased customers. This is evidenced by the fact that, even today, there are numerous comments on Carroll’s music video by frustrated consumers who were also wronged by major airliners or by poor customer service in general. This shared experience and capacity to connect with a large number of viewers play a critical role in making a viral video viral. Unsurprisingly, many of YouTube’s most watched videos have a universal appeal and are culture-neutral. For instance, “Charlie bit my finger” and “nyancat,” which respectively had 414 Million and 61 Million views at the time of writing, feature universally-popular themes: babies and cats.

It is important to note that these are only reactive measures to minimize damage, not proactive strategies that can altogether prevent damages done by negative social media activities. The core lesson is that social media is a game changer that demands sincerity beyond the traditional PR response; it is a powerful tool that empowers consumers to hold companies responsible for their actions.